What is Rape?

Rape is the term used to describe

sexual acts committed WITHOUT a person's consent
and/or against a person's will.

Sexual consent refers to

sex which is freely, intelligently, and voluntarily shared between two adults.

Every woman has the right to make decisions about her own body, whether or not to
have sex,
use birth control,
becoming pregnant or
having children.
she does not lose these rights if she marries.

Rape is a sexual assault and a criminal offence.

The offender may be:

• a stranger
  
• an acquaintance, family member or friend or
  
• the woman's husband
  
• or ex-husband.

If You Have Just Been Raped.…

Go to the hospital emergency immediately.
Do not wash or change your clothes, but
Do take a support person with you, a trusted friend or someone from Victim Assistance.

• Call 1-800-563-0808 for information about the nearest resource.
• Call the police at 911
• Call the Rape Crisis Line (604) 255-6344 (Vancouver area)

Many women, at least 1 in 8, experience a rape in their lifetime. If this has happened to you, we encourage you to be gentle with yourself. You didn't deserve to be raped. You didn't choose to be raped. You are not responsible—the rapist is. You did the best you could, and you did well—after all, you're here to read this.

If you were sexually assaulted at sometime in the past and….

you still feel angry
you have nightmares
you feel depressed
you feel that God has abandoned you
you wonder what you have done to deserve such abuse
if you are crying a lot
if you feel ashamed, somehow responsible
or completely numb, "dead", alone…..

These reactions are normal. They will ease in time…
Right now your spirit is telling you that you need to attend to your own healing.

You did not deserve this, and you do not deserve to continue to pay for someone else's offence.

You do deserve help in working through this. You may want to:

Join a support group
Seek counselling
Seek spiritual counsel
Lay charges against the offender

For a confidential discussion of your options you may phone 1-888-622-6337 or 604-850-6639 between 8:30am - 4:30pm Monday to Friday, ask for Elsie.

1. Feminine pronouns are used throughout, since women are 8 times more likely to be victimized than are men (Fitzgerald, 1999). When men are abused, the effects and pastoral responses are the same. We are concerned for abuse of all whether male or female, adult or children.